


under stars

by qqqqqq



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-19
Updated: 2017-12-19
Packaged: 2019-02-16 23:19:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13064268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/qqqqqq/pseuds/qqqqqq
Summary: Her eyes are keen and bright, even in the dark, and Grog feels uncomfortable under the intensity of her stare. (Set after episode 52.)





	under stars

With the excitement of the day behind them, Grog finds himself alone at night.

The stars twinkle over Westruun, and even though the fighting has been quelled for now, there is still tension in the air. Grog finds it difficult to sleep when it feels like danger is still breathing down their backs.

He keeps watch just outside the house they’ve been staying in, holding the Firebrand Warhammer in his lap. After Craven Edge, his fellows had some words to share about the Bloodaxe. Reluctantly, Grog agreed to keep it in the bag of holding until Gilmore could properly identify it.

At least they allowed him to keep the Titanstone Knuckles. His argument had been, why would Kalamari Joe send them on a quest to retrieve them if they were going to have a negative effect? Vax and Scanlan had their items. “Why can’t I keep mine?” he’d asked. They relented at that.

Grog sits and stares at the heavy gauntlets. His fingers flex around the handle of the hammer; the strength courses through him. Even the Gauntlets of Ogre Power didn’t compare to this. Not even close.

The door behind him opens quietly. Grog looks up to see Vex standing there, pulling it carefully closed behind her. She’s dressed in a simple tunic, boots, and breeches, her hair loose down her back. Her eyes are keen and bright, even in the dark, and Grog feels uncomfortable under the intensity of her stare. “Vex? You’re still awake?”

“Mmm.” She tilts her face away from him, closes her eyes, and stands motionless as a breeze kicks up down the street. Grog examines her profile in silence before looking back down at the hammer in his lap. His mind flashes back to the town square of Westruun: Kevdak frozen in front of him while five others surrounded him from all sides and took turns hacking away. He’d been hanging on by a thread, his blood pumping hard in his ears, but her voice had cut through above it all:

_“Grog! Raise your arm!”_

When he comes back into the present moment, he realizes he’s tense. His hands are clutched around the handle of the hammer, and his pulse is hammering hard again: _tha-thump, tha-thump, tha-thump_ …

He looks back to Vex after a moment to see that she has come down the stairs and is standing in front of him. He’s seated on stairs, but even sitting, she is shorter than he is. For the second time that day, her voice cuts through and reaches him: “You ought to go inside and get some rest. You had quite an exciting day.”

Grog stares at her and remembers, after Greenbeard’s head fell from his shoulders and he removed Kevdak’s skull, going to Vex to put it all in her Bag of Holding. Even though she’d been healed enough that she was in no danger of dying, he could see the tears in her clothes and her armor, the dried blood along the frayed edges. He clutches the hammer tighter at the thought and looks down at his lap again.

He’s alive because of her. Vex saved his life.

“What’s the matter?” she asks. There’s a smile in her voice, which Grog is not expecting. “You look so serious, darling. Don’t go thinking _too_ hard now.”

Grog looks up again. “Y’should be the one restin’,” he says gruffly. “‘m fine.”

Their eyes meet, and Grog sees nothing but concern there. This confuses him. There is no reason for her to be concerned. They defeated Kevdak; the herd will soon be leaving Westruun. Tomorrow, they will kill a dragon which means the good people of this city can resume their lives once more. He is wearing the fucking _Titanstone Knuckles_ , gifted by Kord himself, at this very moment. And yet…

“Grog.” Vex crosses her arms and pulls his mind back to the present moment for the second time in the span of a few minutes. “You’re a worse liar than my brother, which is truly a feat. Come now. What’s wrong?"

His gaze shifts to something just over her shoulder so he doesn’t have to look directly in her eyes. “Nuffin’.. ‘m just… thinkin’. ‘Bout earlier today ‘n you sweepin’ down to get me.”

“Well, what about it?” Her tone suggests that he’s missing something obvious. “You told us that you didn’t want to die by Kevdak. Obviously I couldn’t let that happen.”

“ _You_ could’ve died, though.” His tone is sharp, much sharper than he means it to be.

Vex shakes her head and unfolds her arms to take his face between her hands. They’re so small they barely reach up his cheeks, but it’s enough to make him go still anyway. “Death doesn’t scare me anymore, Grog, just as I know it doesn’t scare you. Can’t you see? I love you, and someone I love said they didn’t want to die because of Kevdak, so of course there was no way I was going to let that happen.”

His tongue is lead in his mouth, and he just stares at Vex. Her hands are steady on his face, forcing him to remain locked on her eyes. At any moment, his pulse could start up again and drown everything out, but she keeps it at bay with her touch.

She leans toward him then, in a way he recognizes. She’s done it once before. Sure enough, her lips touch his, soft and warm, and for a moment, Grog can’t close his eyes. He sees the curve of her eyelashes against her cheek and a wavy lock of hair hanging down over one shoulder.

And then he closes his eyes and lifts one heavy hand off of the hammer to touch her waist. He barely makes contact, but Vex does not complain. She lingers for a moment or two before pulling away to look him in the eye.

Grog stares at her, slightly open-mouthed, but he can see now that her eyes are a little wet. “You stupid man,” she mutters, her voice suddenly thick, “of course I love you."

His hand closes on her waist then, pulling her back toward him, and it’s he who initiates a kiss this time. Vex braces her hands on his shoulders for balance but reciprocates with a ferocity that surprises him. He’s not sure how long they stay there, kissing under the stars, but then Vex pulls away. He knows her cheeks are wet. He could feel them. Still, he says nothing, just ducks his head and lets Vex pepper kisses along the lines of the tattoos over his head.

“Come inside,” she insists. “You needn’t protect us anymore today.”

Grog nods and finally stands up. He doesn’t comment on the kiss. Neither does she. But she does take his hand, and Grog lets her lead him inside.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm just getting back into critical role after a long time away from it and decided to post this drabble here. it used to live on my blog before i deactivated but now it lives here instead. :)


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